Shikhar Dhawan plays a shot during the match between Sri Lanka and India at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. AFP

Gulf Today Report

Riding on a stupendous batting performance by stand-in captain Shikhar Dhawan and debutant Ishan Kishan, india defeated Sri Lanka by seven wickets in their first one-day international match on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 263, India crossed the line for the loss of just three wickets with 80 balls to spare.

Dhawan and Prithivi Shaw set the tone for a successful chase with a 58-run opening wicket partnership.

Charith Asalanka plays a shot as Ishan Kishan watches during the first ODI match in Colombo. AP

After the dismissal of Shaw, Dhawan kept on playing a watchful innings as Kishan went after the Lankan bowlers to spur the run rate.

Earlier, India restricted Lanka to 262/9 in their allotted 50 overs. Deepak Chahar (2/37), Yuzvendra Chahal (2/52) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/48) all picked two wickets each.

Dhananjaya de Silva celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Prithvi Shaw. Reuters

It was Chahal, who triggered the slide as Yadav struck twice in a quick succession to derail the Lanka innings. The hosts kept on losing the wickets on regular intervals and could never recover from there on.

Chamika Karunaratne topped scored for Lanka with a gritty 43. Lankan batsmen failed to capitalize on the good start and could not convert them into big scores.
 
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 262/9 in 50 overs (Avishka Fernando 33, Charith Asalanka 38, Dasun Shanaka 39, Chamika Karunaratne 43 not out; Deepak Chahar 2/37, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/52, Kuldeep Yadav 2/48). India 263/3 in 36.4 overs (Prithvi Shaw 43, Shikhar Dhawan 86 not out, Ishan Kishan 59, Suryakumar Yadav 31 not out; Dhananjaya de Silva 2/49).